Philadelphia (AFP) – Tournament favourites France will go into their World Cup quarter-final against Morocco with their confidence further bolstered by the manner in which they saw off Paraguay on Saturday, as Didier Deschamps' team showed they are happy to "get their hands dirty" as well as play brilliant football.
Issued on: 05/07/2026 - 18:46
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This World Cup so far has been lit up by the return of French flair, with Les Bleus possibly performing better than they have at any major tournament since Zinedine Zidane inspired them to glory at Euro 2000.Deschamps has had a richly successful 14-year reign in charge, but he is usually a pragmatic coach who prioritises substance over style.That has changed over the last few weeks in the United States, as he appears to have decided he can hand the keys to his many brilliant attacking players in his last tournament before stepping down.But after scoring 13 goals across first four matches, they had to ditch the flair and win in a different way in their 1-0 last-16 victory against Paraguay on Saturday.It took a Kylian Mbappe penalty in the 70th minute in Philadelphia to settle a niggly contest in which Paraguay set out to put everyone behind the ball and wind up their opponents.Somehow the South Americans escaped without a single booking from a game described by French sports daily L'Equipe as "a fight that you shouldn't show to your children"."If we have to get our hands dirty, we'll get our hands dirty. We've no problem with that," Mbappe said after the game, which was also played in sweltering conditions with late afternoon temperatures of 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit).The lesson for their future opponents is that you can try to frustrate France and get under their skin, but it might not work as a strategy."Their main quality is fighting, but we showed that the France team is not only about playing nice football. Anyone who wants to go to war with us, now they know what to expect," said Rayan Cherki, the Manchester City forward who came on as a late substitute.Morocco challenge
